Reflecting on the loss of a snake

mysticmoon · 05-09-16, 02:59 PM

2 years ago I was given two yearling Rosy Boas, they were not my first snakes but I definitely was not prepared for the events that followed. Both of the snakes ended up dying, and I want to reflect on why and bring awareness to others. If your snake is exhibiting signs of illness, DO NOT WAIT. Take him to a vet immediately, the longer you wait the higher risk for death and higher treatment prices. And also, be careful who you buy snakes from. You don't always know if the animal is healthy or not and what kind of condition they may be in. Do your research on the breeder and request information.

The person who gave me the snakes said they were about a year old, but to me they looked much younger, possibly hatchlings. Being dumb, I didn't ask many questions because I was just super excited to get 2 new editions to my collection, 2 coastal rosy boas, one albino and one normal. Upon being given to me the owner informed me that they had previously been housed together, but I decided to house them separately.

The albino baby exhibited signs that should have been a red flag to me immediately, he was a super picky eater, and most times quite lethargic. Despite proper temps and attempts at regular feeding this baby passed away a few months later from causes I am not sure of.

Fast forward to last month... the normal Rosy I had been given at the same time was doing well. He had grown and was an aggressive eater. Still, this snake too exhibited odd behavior. Sometimes I would find him lying on the side of his head, or with his head upside down. In panic I would open the tank and nudge him and he would jump up startled. I summed it up to he was just a strange guy and enjoyed sleeping that way. During this month I had been packing to move out, and I fed and left my snakes at my mom's house for a week before I came back. When I returned I discovered my Rosy stiff and dead with his undigested food still in his belly.

I am still unsure what the cause of death was with both of these snakes. Moral of the story? If you notice odd behavior or even have the slightest feeling something isn't right, please take your animal to a vet. A consoltation is usually quite affordable and if there is nothing wrong they will send you on your way. I wish I would have gotten these two to a vet when I had the chance.

**EL Ziggy** · 05-09-16, 05:45 PM

Sorry for your loss.

Albert Clark · 05-09-16, 06:17 PM

Wow, my condolences.go out to you. That is very good advice. We as keepers have little to no control of the morbidity and mortality of these animals. The best defense we have is proper quarantine practices and like you said the services of a qualified exotic vet. Thanks for sharing this.

Petsnakes · 05-10-16, 12:38 PM

Hi Mysticmoon,

Sorry to hear about your loss.

It's always hard when the animals that you have cared for die, especially when you don't know the cause.

This could sound a bit insensitive but did you take the dead animals to a vet for a biopsy to find out what was wrong with them?

I would be worried that it could be something that could be spread to my other snakes.

Bye for now,

Jim

Snakesitter · 05-10-16, 01:42 PM

^^ I would share Jim's concern. At the very least, make sure you disinfect their former vivs and all shared tools, if possible using diluted bleach. One can never be too careful.

As a future suggestion, I always research the vendors I buy from, insist on care records, take the new arrivals to an experienced herp vet anyway before they come home, take blood samples there for lab tests, and quarantine them for a full year....but then, I'm very cautious. ;-)

Thank you for posting a good warning, and I wish you the best of luck with future purchases.

mysticmoon · 05-10-16, 04:08 PM

Thank you everyone, glad my advice can be helpful. I did not take the snakes for a biopsy, although i see now that may have been a good idea. The former vivs have been disinfected and are not currently housing animals. My other snakes and lizards are all healthy, thank god. I will be more careful with new additions in the future

macandchz · 05-11-16, 07:36 AM

dear mysticmoon. i'm very sorry to hear about your snakes. you are so right about the vet visits.

**Andy_G** · 05-11-16, 07:38 AM

Awful to hear this, I am so sorry. In the future as previously mentioned, do your best to bring the deceased animal into a vet for a necropsy to avoid anything spreading through the collection. That's the last thing you would want. Again, I am sorry for your loss.